This invention relates to flexible infant carriers that are worn by the person who carries the infant.
Various configurations of flexible infant carriers that are worn by the person carrying the infant are known in the art. Most such prior art designs feature a seat or pouch suspended by straps from the wearer's shoulders. Some of these carriers are configured to support the child in front of the wearer with the infant facing either inwardly toward the wearer (usually preferred for very young infants) or outwardly, free to observe the surroundings.
The seat portion of prior art devices is usually formed of fabric having holes through which the infant's legs extend. (See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,687 issued to Nunemacher; U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,440 issued to Purtzer et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,259 issued to Krich et al.). This structure essentially suspends the infant by the crotch of the legs with much of the infant's weight carried by the edges of the leg holes. As a result, the leg hole edges press against the infant's thighs. The pressure of the edges of the leg holes against the infant's thighs creates discomfort and consequent restlessness in the infant.
Some infant carrier designs, such as illustrated in Ruggiano, U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,998, utilize substantially rigid seating platforms suspended to project horizontally outwardly from the wearer. These designs are relatively bulky, making the device uncomfortable to wear and reducing the wearer's freedom of movement. Furthermore, these platform-type designs are not readily adaptable for carrying the infant facing inwardly toward the wearer.